Goodhue Park

Parks Celebrates Acquisition Of First Section Of Goodhue Park

Photo by Daniel Avila

On Wednesday, April 24, First Deputy Commissioner Liam Kavanagh joined Staten Island Deputy Borough President Ed Burke, former U.S. Representative Michael McMahon and Children’s Aid Society President and CEO Richard R. Buery Jr. to celebrate NYC Parks’ acquisition of the first parcel of Goodhue Park.

“We are so happy to be here today to celebrate the acquisition of the first parcel of Goodhue Park,” said Commissioner Kavanagh. “Many thanks to all the environmental and park advocates and our elected officials; Borough President Molinaro, Deputy Borough President Ed Burke, former U.S. Representative Michael McMahon, former Council Member Ken Mitchell, and Council Members James Oddo and Vincent Ignizio, who advocated for, and funded, this important property’s acquisition.”

Borough President James P. Molinaro said, “With more than 10,500 acres of parkland and open space, Staten Island has earned its title of ‘The Borough of Parks.’ Now our Island will be even greener with the acquisition of the first parcel of Goodhue Park, thanks to Mayor Bloomberg and the City Council. I applaud Commissioner Veronica White for her leadership and I feel confident that Goodhue will be preserved as an oasis of passive and active recreation for future generations to enjoy.”

“We are grateful to Mayor Bloomberg and the New York City Council for funding the purchase of this land for NYC Parks,” said Richard Buery, President and CEO of The Children’s Aid Society. “The proceeds of this sale will allow us to expand our work in Staten Island and put us one step closer to our vision of helping children from across the city escape poverty and live happy, healthy and productive lives.”

Parks has acquired 15 acres of Goodhue Park, thanks to a generous allocation of $5.6 million from Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and $1.5 million allocated by the City Council. Parks has been working since 2006 to acquire 38 acres of this property, owned by the Children’s Aid Society, to create a new public park for the North Shore of Staten Island. The property is located in the Randall Manor community and is comprised of 26 acres of woodlands, with the balance consisting of a meadow, stream, pond, open field area, indoor gymnasium, and 11 buildings which are planned to be used for recreational programming and maintenance and operations purposes. The new park is situated between Allison Pond Park and Jones Woods.

The required Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) and associated environmental review work for the acquisition was completed in 2009 when the City Planning Commission approved the acquisition of the property for park purposes. Jurisdiction of the property was officially assigned to Parks as of November 20, 2012. Parks’ continues to seek funds to complete the full acquisition of the property.